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Jay Lipe Articles

Written by: Jay Lipe

Top 10 Marketing Tools for Small Business - Click To Read Article
Drawn from The Marketing Toolkit for Growing Businesses

The 10 Commandments of Successful Marketing - Click To Read Article
OK these Ten Commandments didn’t come from the Mountain. And they’re not carved on clay tablets, but on a high-tensile polyfiber instead. Yet any marketer worth his or her salt must follow these commandments in order to find the Promised Land.

Vertical Marketing vs Horizontal Marketing Which is right for you - Click To Read Article
How do you define vertical and horizontal marketing? Vertical marketing is a term used to define a company's approach towards targeting that focuses on specific industries. For example, a software vendor might say "We concentrate on the following vertical markets: wood component manufacturers and thermoformed plastic manufacturers."

The 4 qualities every great testimonial has - Click To Read Article
The 4 qualities every great testimonial has

How To Gain Confidence in your Marketing - Click To Read Article
When I started my marketing firm in 1994, I decided to send out a press release to the local media. Over the next 2 weeks, I wrote and rewrote this release until I was sure it would get picked up in the local papers. By this stage, my inner voice was chanting "This will work! This will work!"

How to identify your companys marketing problems - Click To Read Article
During one of my recent seminars, an attendee took issue with my use of the word “problem”. It seems he’d been trained to call them “opportunities” instead, and felt that using the word problem was negative. Now, I’m all for putting a positive spin on things, but in my mind problems are something we grow up with. Can you imagine how some of our day-to-day expressions might change if we substituted “opportunity” for “problem”? For example: “Johnny, I’ve got an opportunity with your attitude.” “Susie, please finish your math opportunities.” “He’s a real opportunity in the classroom.”

Keys to Branding Your Growing Business - Click To Read Article
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, a rancher would mark his cattle with a brand. This brand, depicting an image unique to his ranch, distinguished his cattle from another’s in the event of a broken fence. Branding, in today’s modern marketing world, operates much the same way. It seeks to distinguish a product or service from the competition and create a lasting impression in a prospect’s mind.

Strategic Branding Questions - Click To Read Article
There’s a heightened interest in branding these days. For small businesses, it can be one of the most important marketing programs of all. As you launch (or relaunch) a branding campaign, take a look through these strategic marketing questions and see if your brand meets them. Then, use the attached checklist to spot branding opportunities…

The 5 Most Common Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them - Click To Read Article
In marketing, like most things in life, success comes only after making mistakes…lots of them. I’ve sure made my fair share of mistakes, and I’ve also learned from others’ mistakes in the market. So, pull up a chair and learn from our mistakes, so you won’t make them.

The 2 Types of Testimonial Unsolicited & Solicited - Click To Read Article
There are 2 kinds of testimonials—solicited and unsolicited. Unsolicited testimonials are those that arrive at your doorstep, without any effort on your part. The buyer took it upon himself or herself to contact you directly with their story. Here are some ways you’ll receive unsolicited testimonials

Top 7 reasons to hire a small business marketing consultant - Click To Read Article
When should your small business hire a small business marketing consultant? Here are the Top 10 conditions for hiring this all important member of your small business team.

Color my World; How to Use Color Effectively in your Marketing - Click To Read Article
How do you feel when you walk into a pink room? What’s your first thought when you see someone dressed entirely in black? Since childhood, color has triggered in each of us a wide range of emotions, so much that we often take color for granted. Don’t. The success of your company’s brand hinges on the proper use of color.

7 Reasons Every Company Needs a Website - Click To Read Article
A lot of brick & mortar companies still don’t have websites and they seem fine with that decision. But is it a good one? I don’t think so. In fact, I think any company without a website in their marketing plan is shooting itself in the foot. Here are all the things a website can do for your company:

6 Reasons Every Company Needs a Marketing Plan - Click To Read Article
Imagine overhearing this conversation your company’s owner and its sales manager: “Hey Joe, I was talking with Bill at Zippidee Company—our biggest customer—and he stopped by Barebones Inc.’s—our biggest competitor’s—booth at the Hodown Trade Show,” says the sales manager. “Bill from Zippidee was at the Hodown?” says the owner. “Well then, we gotta be at that show next year. Call the trade association and reserve a booth for next year. Start recruiting reps to work the show and reorder the coffee mugs with our logo. Come on, let’s moooove.” Is this proper marketing? This scenario demonstrates how, all too often, a company implements tactics without first planning strategically. It’s a lot like cooking without a recipe.

6 Reasons Every Company Needs a Marketing Plan - Click To Read Article
Does your company have a marketing plan? If not, read this article and learn the 6 most common reasons EVERY company needs a marketing plan.

The low spark of high tech marketing - Click To Read Article
Today, many tech companies enjoy a reputation, deservedly so, for being on the cutting edge. Faced with a cutthroat market, they excel at inventing and rolling out new technologies and products. Yet when it comes to marketing, they take a decidedly low-tech approach.

The Basics on Pay Per Click Advertising - Click To Read Article
Imagine if you could advertise ONLY to people who have actually expressed an interest in doing business with you? That’s basically what happens whenever a prospective customer or client types a phrase into a search engine that’s relevant to your business. But how do search engines decide which sites are worthy of top placement in their search results? It turns out that some of the results are ranked by the search engine’s computers while others are simply paid advertisements from companies willing to buy their way to the top using Pay Per Click Advertising.

21st Century Marketing - Click To Read Article
How marketing has changed forever...and what to do about it For 10 years leading up to the new millennium, the US economy rolled merrily along. Confidence was high and business was strong. But starting in the spring of 2001, the economy has resembled Disney World’s Space Mountain ride—off-balance, in the dark, without any idea when the ride will end. The dot-com bomb, corporate scandals like Enron, and ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have reshaped our economy into one based on uncertainty.

Service Marketers Hows Your Packaging - Click To Read Article
When a shopper picks up a product in a store, what’s the first thing they notice? The packaging, right? The same holds true for someone buying a service.

Cut bickering between Sales and Marketing with these tips - Click To Read Article
“All Marketing does is produce useless brochures” complains Mr. Sales. “All Sales does is complain about our brochures” counters Ms. Marketing.

Concierge Marketing How to turn information into a marketing tool - Click To Read Article
Buyers these days are buried in choices. A typical Google search generates millions of options. A harried grocery shopper looking for canned peaches, confronts dozens of choices. What’s a buyer to do? More to the point, what’s a marketer to do?

How to Set and Get the Right Prices - Click To Read Article
Which product feature of yours does every buyer ask about? Which sales tool closes prospects instantly? Your price. Yet, despite the far-reaching consequences of a company’s pricing, I’m surprised at how little time small business owners spend on it. Here are a few ways to bring pricing to the forefront of your marketing plan.

Keys to Branding Your Small Business - Click To Read Article
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, a rancher would mark his cattle with a brand. This brand, depicting an image unique to his ranch, distinguished his cattle from another’s in the event of a broken fence. Branding, in today’s modern marketing world, operates much the same way. It seeks to distinguish a product or service from the competition and create a lasting impression in a prospect’s mind.

Still dont have a website What are you waiting for - Click To Read Article
A lot of brick & mortar companies still don’t have websites and they seem fine with that decision. But is it a good one? I don’t think so. In fact, I think any company without a website in their marketing plan is shooting itself in the foot. Here are all the things a website can do for your company:

How to Successfully Market Your Website - Click To Read Article
Once you build a website, your job is only half done. Now, you must market it to your prospects so they visit—often. Here are some of the most common ways to market your website:

How to Use Testimonials in Your Business - Click To Read Article
What’s one very effective way to convert prospects into first-time buyers? Testimonials from satisfied customers. But how do you go about collecting them? And what should they say? Here are some tips and techniques on using testimonials in your marketing effort…

What can Britney Spears Teach Us About Web Marketing - Click To Read Article
Regardless of what you think of Britney Spears' singing skills, the pop princess can offer some guidance on how to market a business through a strong web presence and proven web marketing strategies.

Bouncing The Right Way to Market Your Company - Click To Read Article
You get bounced from a bar. You get bounced from line. Most of us don't associate good things with bouncing. But as a marketer, you'll find great benefit in bouncing your prospects.

12 Tips for Standout Website Design - Click To Read Article
If you want your small business website to stand out from the crowd, follow these practical website design tips. If you do, you’ll harvest more traffic, higher conversions and more sales from your site.

How to Set (and Get) the Right Prices - Click To Read Article
Which product feature of yours does every buyer ask about? Which sales tool closes prospects instantly? Your price. Yet, despite the far-reaching consequences of a company’s pricing, I’m surprised at how little time business owners spend on it. Here are a few ways to bring pricing to the forefront of your marketing plan.

How to Gain Confidence in Your Marketing….Once and for All - Click To Read Article
If you're just a little fearful about marketing, try this approach...

Service Marketers; How’s Your Packaging? - Click To Read Article
When a shopper picks up a product in a store, what is the first thing they notice? The packaging, right? The same holds true for someone buying a service. Yet instead of a folded carton with colorful graphics, you are the packaging for your service business. Intangible points of contact, including your clothes, your briefcase, maybe even your breath, all burn a lasting image in your buyer’s mind.





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